It Was The Best of Times, It Was The Worst of Times -- A 2018 Training Journal* Updated 9/27
- Thread starter Keels
- Start date
SarahDisney
So ... Yeah
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
Oh Keels. This is tough, and while I'm fortunate enough to have never been through this, I know people who have, and I don't know that it will ever get any better ... you'll just eventually reach a point where it doesn't hurt all the time. It's just getting to that point that's truly hard. It's okay to be mad - this isn't fair. It isn't fair that it happened to you, and it isn't fair that you're left to deal with the arrangements while also taking care of your mom and handling your own grief. But unfortunately, life's not fair, and sometimes these things happen. It's always okay to be angry - sometimes anger is the only way to deal with it.
I think everyone here will agree with me when I say that you're an amazing person. You've been here to support all of us throughout our journeys. You were one of the first runners I interacted with here on the boards, you've always helped me believe in my dreams, and I don't know that I would be planning my first marathon without you. You've been such an amazing part of my journey and a great supporter, and I hope you know that if you ever need anything, whether that's someone to talk to about what you're going through, someone to buy you a drink next time you're in NYC, or anything in between, I'm here for you.
I think everyone here will agree with me when I say that you're an amazing person. You've been here to support all of us throughout our journeys. You were one of the first runners I interacted with here on the boards, you've always helped me believe in my dreams, and I don't know that I would be planning my first marathon without you. You've been such an amazing part of my journey and a great supporter, and I hope you know that if you ever need anything, whether that's someone to talk to about what you're going through, someone to buy you a drink next time you're in NYC, or anything in between, I'm here for you.
michigandergirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
Losing a loved one is so hard. Grief is tough to navigate. Hugs to you and your family.
SheHulk
off to the (runDisney) races
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2016
Stating the obvious, but it’s ok to be angry, or sad, or just tired, or all of the above. I don’t have advice either but you are good and you are doing everything right and I always think it’s important to tell someone that when it’s true and they’re struggling.
Anisum
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 15, 2015
Oh Keels, I'm sorry. I totally missed this on the running thread. I don't have advice because I haven't experienced the loss of a parent and even if I had everyone is different but as everyone else has said it's okay to feel whatever you are feeling. I can only hope that your father's remains are back with your family soon and that communication improves. You have been wonderful in helping me and many others on the boards and if there is anything we can help you with in this time let us know.
run.minnie.miles
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2016
I can't pretend to know what you're going through, but I can offer lots of love and prayers for you and your family. So sorry, sweet Keels.
Keels
The Official Keels of RunDisney
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2008
Dopey 2018: Overview, Race Week Begins & Expo
I don't know if y'all know this - but this was to be my third Dopey! Yeah, I know, crazy surprise right?
And like my previous Dopey, I was going in injured - though, this time ... it was a little more serious.
Between my three-race W&D Weekend combined with Ragnar South Beach, I started feeling a strange "touch" pain at the back of the heel on my reconstructed foot. After runs, it would swell IMMEDIATELY and would be really tender to the touch. It was initially diagnosed as Achilles bursitis, so I went through the recovery efforts for that. I tried running again before Christmas, and it was even worse - with more pain, more swelling (and, unbeknownst to me, real destruction of the heels in my shoes). My orthopedist in Orlando decided it was the same bursitis combined with insertion tendonitis (based on how my foot is built), and gave me a cortisone shot, with a second shot scheduled the week of Dopey.
With all that established, lets fast forward to Race Week!
NYE!
New Year's Eve at Epcot is my favorite way to ring in the New Year - the fireworks are amazing, and there's just something about ringing in a fresh, new year at my favorite place.
This year, we opted to stay at the Dolphin on Marriott points and it was outstanding. Mr. Keels has never stayed in the Epcot Resort area before (his favorite resort is Animal Kingdom Lodge, and I usually save my Beach Club stays for girl trips that last more than a couple of nights), so he'd never experienced the convenience of just stumbling out the International Gateway for a five-minute stroll back to the hotel.
We started our day out mid-afternoon at Animal Kingdom - beers at Dawa Bar:
Followed by a few single-rider rides on Expedition Everest. Then, it was time to head over to the Dolphin, drop off the car and stroll over the DHS for our FastPasses!
"How about some backstage passes??"
Patio beers at BaseLine
This hotel does NOT have a bar ... so it's BYOB.
After a quick drop-in at the Hollywood Tower Hotel, we left DHS to head back to the Dolphin for a quick clothes change. Why? My Saints were playing!
We decided to watch the game at the bar at Todd English's BlueZoo and it was a great, chill spot for me to drink some rose and cheer on my football team. They were getting set up for the evening and gave us some cute, festive party pieces for later in the evening.
The Saints lost the game, but that's OK. They'd already wrapped up everything they needed to do and it was time to look forward to the playoffs.
It was also time for US to look forward to the festivities in Epcot!
And off to Epcot we went! As we crossed through International Gateway into the park, the early performance of Illuminations was going on ... so, it was pretty cool that they shot off fireworks for our arrival!
We've done NYE at four years prior to this one, so we feel like we're pretty much experts about how this whole process works. BOY, were things different this year. This was the first year that the Holiday Kitchens from the Holiday Festival would be open for NYE, so because of that, we decided to forego an ADR in favor of just eating at the Kitchens. Welp ... the Kitchen were open, but the offerings were not what we were expecting:
It was basically Hot Dog Kitchen, because that's what was EVERYWHERE. And the "specialty" wine was also a real crapshoot - but at $6, whatever. I gave it a shot. Especially because I was able to get my Disney-issued NYE top hat there as well!
The other thing we were not used to ... this was the first year where Ops at Epcot decided to tape off half the walkway around the World Showcase to allow people to sit down and wait for the midnight fireworks. That was a really bad call, in my opinion. The reason why Epcot is so great for NYE is because the walkway in World Showcase is SO wide ... sure, it's crowded, but it's not anything that makes you feel really frustrated. Well, THIS time, it felt really frustrating because now the walkway was half the size, and while they had CMs out directing traffic, it was so narrow and you were shoulder-to-shoulder about two wide trying to make your way around.
So, now with our plan of eating at the kitchens and traveling around the World Showcase enjoying the parties and specialty drinks now completely a bust, I had to act quickly. I looked at MDE and lo and behold, the most perfect of ADRs was AVAILABLE for a party of 2 at 10 p.m. ... where did we end up?
TEPPAN EDO!!!!! Mr. Keels had never been, but we love hibachi and I love those udon noodles ... so we had a blast at dinner. About 90 minutes later, we walked out with to-go drinks, grabbed a quick champagne for midnight and then walked right back to my favorite place for NYE - Japan!
Continued in Next Post
I don't know if y'all know this - but this was to be my third Dopey! Yeah, I know, crazy surprise right?
And like my previous Dopey, I was going in injured - though, this time ... it was a little more serious.
Between my three-race W&D Weekend combined with Ragnar South Beach, I started feeling a strange "touch" pain at the back of the heel on my reconstructed foot. After runs, it would swell IMMEDIATELY and would be really tender to the touch. It was initially diagnosed as Achilles bursitis, so I went through the recovery efforts for that. I tried running again before Christmas, and it was even worse - with more pain, more swelling (and, unbeknownst to me, real destruction of the heels in my shoes). My orthopedist in Orlando decided it was the same bursitis combined with insertion tendonitis (based on how my foot is built), and gave me a cortisone shot, with a second shot scheduled the week of Dopey.
With all that established, lets fast forward to Race Week!
NYE!
New Year's Eve at Epcot is my favorite way to ring in the New Year - the fireworks are amazing, and there's just something about ringing in a fresh, new year at my favorite place.
This year, we opted to stay at the Dolphin on Marriott points and it was outstanding. Mr. Keels has never stayed in the Epcot Resort area before (his favorite resort is Animal Kingdom Lodge, and I usually save my Beach Club stays for girl trips that last more than a couple of nights), so he'd never experienced the convenience of just stumbling out the International Gateway for a five-minute stroll back to the hotel.
We started our day out mid-afternoon at Animal Kingdom - beers at Dawa Bar:
Followed by a few single-rider rides on Expedition Everest. Then, it was time to head over to the Dolphin, drop off the car and stroll over the DHS for our FastPasses!
"How about some backstage passes??"
Patio beers at BaseLine
This hotel does NOT have a bar ... so it's BYOB.
After a quick drop-in at the Hollywood Tower Hotel, we left DHS to head back to the Dolphin for a quick clothes change. Why? My Saints were playing!
We decided to watch the game at the bar at Todd English's BlueZoo and it was a great, chill spot for me to drink some rose and cheer on my football team. They were getting set up for the evening and gave us some cute, festive party pieces for later in the evening.
The Saints lost the game, but that's OK. They'd already wrapped up everything they needed to do and it was time to look forward to the playoffs.
It was also time for US to look forward to the festivities in Epcot!
And off to Epcot we went! As we crossed through International Gateway into the park, the early performance of Illuminations was going on ... so, it was pretty cool that they shot off fireworks for our arrival!
We've done NYE at four years prior to this one, so we feel like we're pretty much experts about how this whole process works. BOY, were things different this year. This was the first year that the Holiday Kitchens from the Holiday Festival would be open for NYE, so because of that, we decided to forego an ADR in favor of just eating at the Kitchens. Welp ... the Kitchen were open, but the offerings were not what we were expecting:
It was basically Hot Dog Kitchen, because that's what was EVERYWHERE. And the "specialty" wine was also a real crapshoot - but at $6, whatever. I gave it a shot. Especially because I was able to get my Disney-issued NYE top hat there as well!
The other thing we were not used to ... this was the first year where Ops at Epcot decided to tape off half the walkway around the World Showcase to allow people to sit down and wait for the midnight fireworks. That was a really bad call, in my opinion. The reason why Epcot is so great for NYE is because the walkway in World Showcase is SO wide ... sure, it's crowded, but it's not anything that makes you feel really frustrated. Well, THIS time, it felt really frustrating because now the walkway was half the size, and while they had CMs out directing traffic, it was so narrow and you were shoulder-to-shoulder about two wide trying to make your way around.
So, now with our plan of eating at the kitchens and traveling around the World Showcase enjoying the parties and specialty drinks now completely a bust, I had to act quickly. I looked at MDE and lo and behold, the most perfect of ADRs was AVAILABLE for a party of 2 at 10 p.m. ... where did we end up?
TEPPAN EDO!!!!! Mr. Keels had never been, but we love hibachi and I love those udon noodles ... so we had a blast at dinner. About 90 minutes later, we walked out with to-go drinks, grabbed a quick champagne for midnight and then walked right back to my favorite place for NYE - Japan!
Continued in Next Post
Last edited:
Keels
The Official Keels of RunDisney
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2008
Dopey 2018: Overview, Race Week Begins & Expo - Cont'd
Double-fisted with drinks, we were able to find a great spot in Japan with about 10 minutes before the fireworks began and the countdown to NYE occurred. Mr. Keels and I chatted a little bit about how we were happy to turn the page on 2017 (it wasn't the greatest year - we lost our dog, I lost my grandfather, among other lesser things) and some of our goals and hopes for 2018.
And then ... it was go time.
Happy New Year!!
We toasted the New Year, grabbed another beer and then headed to Future World to get in the single-rider line for Test Track! 20 minutes later (where we got to ride next to each other - score!), we were on our way out of the park and back to the hotel! We popped into Jelly Rolls for a closing-time drink and then we were back to the Dolphin around 1:50 a.m.
I ended up going to sleep, but when I woke up the next morning, I discovered that Mr. Keels had somehow convinced room service to not only bring him a pizza, but also two bourbons neat for him to drink after 2 a.m. Score?
While the weather on NYE was absolutely idyllic, early morning on New Year's Day brought in a cold front filled with chilly and dreary weather. Looking back at it, this would be a stunning symbol of what 2018 had in store for me.
Race Week Begins
This time around, I'd brought every piece of running attire I had with me from Texas - warm weather clothes, cold weather clothes, wet weather clothes. I'd ordered an extra down running vest, extra pairs of fleece-lined leggings, gloves, through away hats, you name it. I was going to be prepared one way or another ... because this was what Mother Nature had to offer up for my "last" WDW Marathon Weekend:
Little Dog was not amused by the weather:
Tuesday night was finally here, and I went to pick up J & J at the airport to take them to Poly ... my reward for providing excellent Uber-style transportation? Drinks at Tambu Lounge and Trader Sam's!
We met up with some friends from a Facebook Group and stayed out WAY too late!
I said my farewells to the group to get home for bed, as I had to be up early for Early Access to the Expo in the morning!
Expo Day!
I made two trips to the Expo on Expo Day - one right at Opening, and one later with my friends. I had purchased Race Retreat for the Half Marathon (which I didn't even bother using, but more on that later) - so I could have early entry to the Expo to do shopping.
In what is becoming typical of RunDisney these days, they clearly hadn't checked the forecast and weren't prepared for the absolute deluge of rain that would plague Lake Buena Vista for most of the morning. So, we all stood outside the little vestibule in the center of WWoS in the cold, pouring rain and heavy wind waiting for wristbands to get into the Expo. From there, we went into the building and were forced to wait in line again.
I had a pretty tight schedule, but in the past, I'd been able to get in and out of the Expo (shopping) and get my bibs in 30-45 minutes, so I was feeling pretty confident. But the clock hit 10, and they still weren't ready to let us into the merchandise area. 15 minutes later, we were finally indoors. I grabbed a hat, a Dopey pullover, a Dopey tank for my BFF, checked out and then had to race over to Runner Relations to grab my bibs.
Why did I have to go to Runner Relations to get my bibs? Well, there was an issue with my registration and I literally was not an officially recognized participant until 12/30. My name wasn't on my bib (whatever, that never meant much to me) - but for those of you that stress about corral placement and PoT after the deadline - I was corralled EXACTLY where my PoT put me.
I hustled back to my truck and then was off to make my last airport run of the weekend - to pick up my bestie @mbwhitti, her husband and Mom!
#TeamWhitti acquired, it was back to the Expo ... this time, for more fun. Well, at least for me!
This was the line for Dopes and Goofs to pick up their bibs:
#NOPE
All of my Expo business complete, I decided to do what I do best - drink beer! This year, they were customizing your beer purchases with the distance you were running!
@FFigawi and I goofed around a bit:
And then he made me wait outside and hold his beer in the cold while he went to pick up his bibs.
And with bibs collected, our Expo time was done!
Up Next: Dopey Begins with the 5K!
Double-fisted with drinks, we were able to find a great spot in Japan with about 10 minutes before the fireworks began and the countdown to NYE occurred. Mr. Keels and I chatted a little bit about how we were happy to turn the page on 2017 (it wasn't the greatest year - we lost our dog, I lost my grandfather, among other lesser things) and some of our goals and hopes for 2018.
And then ... it was go time.
Happy New Year!!
We toasted the New Year, grabbed another beer and then headed to Future World to get in the single-rider line for Test Track! 20 minutes later (where we got to ride next to each other - score!), we were on our way out of the park and back to the hotel! We popped into Jelly Rolls for a closing-time drink and then we were back to the Dolphin around 1:50 a.m.
I ended up going to sleep, but when I woke up the next morning, I discovered that Mr. Keels had somehow convinced room service to not only bring him a pizza, but also two bourbons neat for him to drink after 2 a.m. Score?
While the weather on NYE was absolutely idyllic, early morning on New Year's Day brought in a cold front filled with chilly and dreary weather. Looking back at it, this would be a stunning symbol of what 2018 had in store for me.
Race Week Begins
This time around, I'd brought every piece of running attire I had with me from Texas - warm weather clothes, cold weather clothes, wet weather clothes. I'd ordered an extra down running vest, extra pairs of fleece-lined leggings, gloves, through away hats, you name it. I was going to be prepared one way or another ... because this was what Mother Nature had to offer up for my "last" WDW Marathon Weekend:
Little Dog was not amused by the weather:
Tuesday night was finally here, and I went to pick up J & J at the airport to take them to Poly ... my reward for providing excellent Uber-style transportation? Drinks at Tambu Lounge and Trader Sam's!
We met up with some friends from a Facebook Group and stayed out WAY too late!
I said my farewells to the group to get home for bed, as I had to be up early for Early Access to the Expo in the morning!
Expo Day!
I made two trips to the Expo on Expo Day - one right at Opening, and one later with my friends. I had purchased Race Retreat for the Half Marathon (which I didn't even bother using, but more on that later) - so I could have early entry to the Expo to do shopping.
In what is becoming typical of RunDisney these days, they clearly hadn't checked the forecast and weren't prepared for the absolute deluge of rain that would plague Lake Buena Vista for most of the morning. So, we all stood outside the little vestibule in the center of WWoS in the cold, pouring rain and heavy wind waiting for wristbands to get into the Expo. From there, we went into the building and were forced to wait in line again.
I had a pretty tight schedule, but in the past, I'd been able to get in and out of the Expo (shopping) and get my bibs in 30-45 minutes, so I was feeling pretty confident. But the clock hit 10, and they still weren't ready to let us into the merchandise area. 15 minutes later, we were finally indoors. I grabbed a hat, a Dopey pullover, a Dopey tank for my BFF, checked out and then had to race over to Runner Relations to grab my bibs.
Why did I have to go to Runner Relations to get my bibs? Well, there was an issue with my registration and I literally was not an officially recognized participant until 12/30. My name wasn't on my bib (whatever, that never meant much to me) - but for those of you that stress about corral placement and PoT after the deadline - I was corralled EXACTLY where my PoT put me.
I hustled back to my truck and then was off to make my last airport run of the weekend - to pick up my bestie @mbwhitti, her husband and Mom!
#TeamWhitti acquired, it was back to the Expo ... this time, for more fun. Well, at least for me!
This was the line for Dopes and Goofs to pick up their bibs:
#NOPE
All of my Expo business complete, I decided to do what I do best - drink beer! This year, they were customizing your beer purchases with the distance you were running!
@FFigawi and I goofed around a bit:
And then he made me wait outside and hold his beer in the cold while he went to pick up his bibs.
And with bibs collected, our Expo time was done!
Up Next: Dopey Begins with the 5K!
Last edited:
Keels
The Official Keels of RunDisney
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2008
2018 Dopey Challenge: The 5K
I don't know if y'all know this ... but I'm a night owl. Like, bonafide go to bed at 5 a.m. and then wake up at noon kinda gal. So, the hardest thing about Dopey is turning on these alarms:
Since I'd started calling this #YOLODopey, I decided I'd finally put my money where my mouth was and attempt to stay up all night into the 5K and then hope my body would crash and I could go to bed at a normal hour.
So - how did I fair? I cat-napped for about 30 minutes but then I was up and ready to go. Well, kind of. It was cold, but I layered up the best I could and left my parents' house to go pick up @FFigawi at Beach Club, and then made a stop at Boardwalk for @mbwhitti and the rest of our group (including some random stranger that was wearing light-up Christmas ears ...). A couple of NASCAR-esque maneuvers got me into a primo spot RIGHT by where you walk in to bag check. We were all sitting in my truck, chatting and staying warm ... and then it happened - my stomach sunk and I realized that not only had I forgotten my headphones at home (it's OK - it's just a 5K) - but I was also pretty sure I'd forgotten to put socks on that morning. I was wearing black stirruped running tights and two pairs of fleece-lined leggings over them (Oh, what do I hate more than waking up early? Being cold. I HATE being cold.)
There I sat. Definitely headphone-less. Probably sockless. About to be freezing cold. And really, really, really tired. 5 a.m. rolled around and we all piled out of my Tahoe to begin the not-so-long walk to the corrals. We stopped to take a group picture at one of the Marathon Weekend signs when I happened to peek down at my shoes.
"I HAVE SOCKS ON!!!!!!!!" I yelled! Like, loud enough that people stopped what they were doing to look at me. Not my finest moment, but my toes were sure happy to have that extra layer of warmth.
Any way. It was into the corrals and time to get my game-face on for the 5K!
What I'm wearing: Compression tank, Hot Chilly's long-sleeve, Hot Chilly's funnel neck top, down running vest, Columbia windbreaker, cheesy fleece Christmas sweater, Trail Ears, running leggings, two pairs of fleece-lined leggings, gloves with Hot Hands inserts. Also, SOCKS!
Once we started, I pulled the funnel-neck up, as well as my windbreaker hood ... I'm pretty sure I looked like Kenny from "South Park", but at least my face wasn't going to fall off.
The 5K was uneventful. I stopped as little as humanly possible because I WAS SO COLD.
I'm really thirsty.
With #BlessedBall, all things are possible!
And with that, the 5K (and leg one of #YOLODopey were finished! I took my tired self home and immediately passed out until almost Noon.
From there, I raced over to Animal Kingdom to meet my friends for lunch at my favorite of places - Yak & Yeti!! I what would become a sign of how crowded the weekend would be, they were turning people away from the AK parking lot because it was full ... WHAT THE WHAT?!? Luckily, I was able to talk someone into letting me park. I left my purse in the car and just rolled in with my ID, credit card, keys and phone because I was afraid of what bag check would look like.
Luckily, my pro strategy worked and allowed me to grab a little hydration on my way to Y&Y:
Lunch was delicious, as always! We had FP+s for EE, but it had been down off and on ALL DAY, so this is what the FP line looked like:
I passed on that - my room at Beach Club Villas was ready! Off I went to get settled into the room and take Nap No. 2 of the day! But first, a stop by my favorite bar ... Hurricane Hannah's!
#WompWomp
With a very small exception on Friday (and then Sunday), HH remained closed for the duration of my stay at the BCV. But fear not - I persevered and ventured inside to check out the new Ale & Compass Lounge over at the Yacht Club - where I immediately made friends with a bartender who gave me this cool button:
Meanwhile, my friends Angela and Leslie (Or "One" and "Two" as they were named by @croach) were on their way to Florida!!
I met up with friends for dinner at Monsieur Paul before returning back to Beach Club to meet my girls! Everyone was here and the weekend could truly begin!!!
We had a quick drink at Ale & Compass, and then the girls hopped in a Minnie Van and went off to EMHs at Magic Kingdom, while I went up to the room to get ready for the 10K and head to bed.
Up Next: 10K ... and will the HHHH Happen??
I don't know if y'all know this ... but I'm a night owl. Like, bonafide go to bed at 5 a.m. and then wake up at noon kinda gal. So, the hardest thing about Dopey is turning on these alarms:
Since I'd started calling this #YOLODopey, I decided I'd finally put my money where my mouth was and attempt to stay up all night into the 5K and then hope my body would crash and I could go to bed at a normal hour.
So - how did I fair? I cat-napped for about 30 minutes but then I was up and ready to go. Well, kind of. It was cold, but I layered up the best I could and left my parents' house to go pick up @FFigawi at Beach Club, and then made a stop at Boardwalk for @mbwhitti and the rest of our group (including some random stranger that was wearing light-up Christmas ears ...). A couple of NASCAR-esque maneuvers got me into a primo spot RIGHT by where you walk in to bag check. We were all sitting in my truck, chatting and staying warm ... and then it happened - my stomach sunk and I realized that not only had I forgotten my headphones at home (it's OK - it's just a 5K) - but I was also pretty sure I'd forgotten to put socks on that morning. I was wearing black stirruped running tights and two pairs of fleece-lined leggings over them (Oh, what do I hate more than waking up early? Being cold. I HATE being cold.)
There I sat. Definitely headphone-less. Probably sockless. About to be freezing cold. And really, really, really tired. 5 a.m. rolled around and we all piled out of my Tahoe to begin the not-so-long walk to the corrals. We stopped to take a group picture at one of the Marathon Weekend signs when I happened to peek down at my shoes.
"I HAVE SOCKS ON!!!!!!!!" I yelled! Like, loud enough that people stopped what they were doing to look at me. Not my finest moment, but my toes were sure happy to have that extra layer of warmth.
Any way. It was into the corrals and time to get my game-face on for the 5K!
What I'm wearing: Compression tank, Hot Chilly's long-sleeve, Hot Chilly's funnel neck top, down running vest, Columbia windbreaker, cheesy fleece Christmas sweater, Trail Ears, running leggings, two pairs of fleece-lined leggings, gloves with Hot Hands inserts. Also, SOCKS!
Once we started, I pulled the funnel-neck up, as well as my windbreaker hood ... I'm pretty sure I looked like Kenny from "South Park", but at least my face wasn't going to fall off.
The 5K was uneventful. I stopped as little as humanly possible because I WAS SO COLD.
I'm really thirsty.
With #BlessedBall, all things are possible!
And with that, the 5K (and leg one of #YOLODopey were finished! I took my tired self home and immediately passed out until almost Noon.
From there, I raced over to Animal Kingdom to meet my friends for lunch at my favorite of places - Yak & Yeti!! I what would become a sign of how crowded the weekend would be, they were turning people away from the AK parking lot because it was full ... WHAT THE WHAT?!? Luckily, I was able to talk someone into letting me park. I left my purse in the car and just rolled in with my ID, credit card, keys and phone because I was afraid of what bag check would look like.
Luckily, my pro strategy worked and allowed me to grab a little hydration on my way to Y&Y:
Lunch was delicious, as always! We had FP+s for EE, but it had been down off and on ALL DAY, so this is what the FP line looked like:
I passed on that - my room at Beach Club Villas was ready! Off I went to get settled into the room and take Nap No. 2 of the day! But first, a stop by my favorite bar ... Hurricane Hannah's!
#WompWomp
With a very small exception on Friday (and then Sunday), HH remained closed for the duration of my stay at the BCV. But fear not - I persevered and ventured inside to check out the new Ale & Compass Lounge over at the Yacht Club - where I immediately made friends with a bartender who gave me this cool button:
Meanwhile, my friends Angela and Leslie (Or "One" and "Two" as they were named by @croach) were on their way to Florida!!
I met up with friends for dinner at Monsieur Paul before returning back to Beach Club to meet my girls! Everyone was here and the weekend could truly begin!!!
We had a quick drink at Ale & Compass, and then the girls hopped in a Minnie Van and went off to EMHs at Magic Kingdom, while I went up to the room to get ready for the 10K and head to bed.
Up Next: 10K ... and will the HHHH Happen??
Last edited:
Keels
The Official Keels of RunDisney
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2008
2018 Dopey Challenge: The 10K
Another day, another early wake-up call and another really cold morning. I grabbed @FFigawi from the Beach Club lobby, we went over to the Boardwalk to collect the rest of our crew, I pretended like I didn't see the parking official telling me where to go and we parked in the Epcot parking lot.
The 10K has always been my favorite race course and I'd originally planned on going for time, but given the cold and my heel, I decided today was the day to stop for all the characters and generally try to have a good time.
(I'll come back and add a collage of all the character pics later because it will take up all my picture capacity for this post).
The 10K was the race where I felt the most ill-effects of the large corrals and mini waves. Because you aren't required to enter a PoT for the 10K (only Dopey participants are slotted by PoT), the course got slow and crowded PRETTY quick (I started in the second wave of Corral C). For example, here is what I ran into at the switchback after Mile 1 ... I think? JUST SO MANY PEOPLE:
Whitti's Mom started in Corral B, and my initial plan was to catch up with her and then we'd finish the race out together (she'd had surgery on her rotator cuff before Christmas and hadn't been able to really do much training), so I set out to do that. But with this insane crowding, at some point I'd just flat-out passed her. Also, everyone was so bundled up because of the cold, it was hard to find people - usually we wear costumes and things that make us identifiable to people, but that just wasn't happening with this weather.
I finished the race and headed straight to the beer cart in the parking lot for my "Reward Beer", and then I went to find Whitti and Mama Whitti. We waited for a while, because Mama Whitti STILL hadn't crossed the finish line ... and we started getting nervous. FINALLY, we see her come through Gear Check! We were so excited - she was so worried about this race and almost didn't run, but we're so glad she did!
As we started the slow trek to my Tahoe, we asked her what she needed:
Mama Whitti: I need a DRINK.
Me: Here - have some of my beer.
Mama Whitti: I don't even like beer, but I'm gonna drink it. (*Big Gulp*) Man, this tastes GOOD.
(More walking)
Mama Whitti: Gimme more of that beer.
I dropped Team Whitti back off at the Boardwalk (they'd be moving to BLT later today), and then went back to BCV.
One and Two were supposed to be waiting outside of Beach Club handing out mimosas to fellow runners this morning. I figured they stayed inside because it was cold.
But upon arriving back to the room, I opened the door and heard One shout "Have a great race! We love you!", to which I responded "Um, I'm already finished ...". Those two slept through the whole thing! They're the worst (but also the best).
I shed my layers upon layers of cold weather gear, warmed up and hopped in bed for a nice, long nap.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I woke up around Noon, and then set out to start preparing for the REAL event of the day - the Hurricane Hannah's Happy Hour meet-up!
I walked over to Hurricane Hannah's around 1, which (of course) was still closed because it wasn't yet above 50 degrees yet that day.
My back-up plan was to host the meet-up indoors at the Ale & Compass Lounge, which has ample space for a large group and a really great beer, wine and cocktail list. So, I went over there to let the bartenders know that there would likely be around 50 or so crazy runners from a message board coming to meet up in just an hour or so, and how I wanted everything to work.
@FFigawi swung by HH around 1:40 and it was STILL closed, so we made the call to host at Ale & Compass. I ran into @BikeFan and his group first, so we all made our way back to Ale & Compass ... and I started messaging people and waiting for everyone to show up.
At some point, @croach messaged me and asked where I was and why the Hostess wasn't there to personally greet him (what a jerk, amirite?) ... which was like, what? I've been standing out in front of Ale & Compass for 15 minutes looking for people!
I walk outside and look across Stormalong Bay ... and sure enough, the garage doors at Hannah's are up and there's already a group of people forming that I was CERTAIN were my loyal RunDisers! So out into the sunshine we went!!
It was SO AWESOME to see everybody at the meet-up - so many people came, I felt like HH's opened JUST for us to hang out and enjoy a few minutes of warm sunshine while doing some good work running up the bar tab for John and I.
Look at all these happy RunDiser faces:
Thanks again to everyone for showing up. This has become my favorite race weekend event to host because I just love the chance to catch up with everyone off the boards - and this one really special because SO MANY of you jerks took opportunities to give me s#!+ about whatever you could, and I just loved it. I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard. So thanks again for everyone showing up - I'll gladly buy your drinks every time around if I get to have an afternoon like this one!
After that, it was catching up with my friends, dinner and then a cupcake purchase for breakfast the next morning (I'd forgotten an Uncrustable, and they were both the same price at the Marketplace, so the cupcake won out):
And then it was off to work on my heel and get ready for the next day ... the jump to the big course and the Half Marathon.
Up Next: Next-to-Last Race Down Main Street?
Another day, another early wake-up call and another really cold morning. I grabbed @FFigawi from the Beach Club lobby, we went over to the Boardwalk to collect the rest of our crew, I pretended like I didn't see the parking official telling me where to go and we parked in the Epcot parking lot.
The 10K has always been my favorite race course and I'd originally planned on going for time, but given the cold and my heel, I decided today was the day to stop for all the characters and generally try to have a good time.
(I'll come back and add a collage of all the character pics later because it will take up all my picture capacity for this post).
The 10K was the race where I felt the most ill-effects of the large corrals and mini waves. Because you aren't required to enter a PoT for the 10K (only Dopey participants are slotted by PoT), the course got slow and crowded PRETTY quick (I started in the second wave of Corral C). For example, here is what I ran into at the switchback after Mile 1 ... I think? JUST SO MANY PEOPLE:
Whitti's Mom started in Corral B, and my initial plan was to catch up with her and then we'd finish the race out together (she'd had surgery on her rotator cuff before Christmas and hadn't been able to really do much training), so I set out to do that. But with this insane crowding, at some point I'd just flat-out passed her. Also, everyone was so bundled up because of the cold, it was hard to find people - usually we wear costumes and things that make us identifiable to people, but that just wasn't happening with this weather.
I finished the race and headed straight to the beer cart in the parking lot for my "Reward Beer", and then I went to find Whitti and Mama Whitti. We waited for a while, because Mama Whitti STILL hadn't crossed the finish line ... and we started getting nervous. FINALLY, we see her come through Gear Check! We were so excited - she was so worried about this race and almost didn't run, but we're so glad she did!
As we started the slow trek to my Tahoe, we asked her what she needed:
Mama Whitti: I need a DRINK.
Me: Here - have some of my beer.
Mama Whitti: I don't even like beer, but I'm gonna drink it. (*Big Gulp*) Man, this tastes GOOD.
(More walking)
Mama Whitti: Gimme more of that beer.
I dropped Team Whitti back off at the Boardwalk (they'd be moving to BLT later today), and then went back to BCV.
One and Two were supposed to be waiting outside of Beach Club handing out mimosas to fellow runners this morning. I figured they stayed inside because it was cold.
But upon arriving back to the room, I opened the door and heard One shout "Have a great race! We love you!", to which I responded "Um, I'm already finished ...". Those two slept through the whole thing! They're the worst (but also the best).
I shed my layers upon layers of cold weather gear, warmed up and hopped in bed for a nice, long nap.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I woke up around Noon, and then set out to start preparing for the REAL event of the day - the Hurricane Hannah's Happy Hour meet-up!
I walked over to Hurricane Hannah's around 1, which (of course) was still closed because it wasn't yet above 50 degrees yet that day.
My back-up plan was to host the meet-up indoors at the Ale & Compass Lounge, which has ample space for a large group and a really great beer, wine and cocktail list. So, I went over there to let the bartenders know that there would likely be around 50 or so crazy runners from a message board coming to meet up in just an hour or so, and how I wanted everything to work.
@FFigawi swung by HH around 1:40 and it was STILL closed, so we made the call to host at Ale & Compass. I ran into @BikeFan and his group first, so we all made our way back to Ale & Compass ... and I started messaging people and waiting for everyone to show up.
At some point, @croach messaged me and asked where I was and why the Hostess wasn't there to personally greet him (what a jerk, amirite?) ... which was like, what? I've been standing out in front of Ale & Compass for 15 minutes looking for people!
I walk outside and look across Stormalong Bay ... and sure enough, the garage doors at Hannah's are up and there's already a group of people forming that I was CERTAIN were my loyal RunDisers! So out into the sunshine we went!!
It was SO AWESOME to see everybody at the meet-up - so many people came, I felt like HH's opened JUST for us to hang out and enjoy a few minutes of warm sunshine while doing some good work running up the bar tab for John and I.
Look at all these happy RunDiser faces:
Thanks again to everyone for showing up. This has become my favorite race weekend event to host because I just love the chance to catch up with everyone off the boards - and this one really special because SO MANY of you jerks took opportunities to give me s#!+ about whatever you could, and I just loved it. I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard. So thanks again for everyone showing up - I'll gladly buy your drinks every time around if I get to have an afternoon like this one!
After that, it was catching up with my friends, dinner and then a cupcake purchase for breakfast the next morning (I'd forgotten an Uncrustable, and they were both the same price at the Marketplace, so the cupcake won out):
And then it was off to work on my heel and get ready for the next day ... the jump to the big course and the Half Marathon.
Up Next: Next-to-Last Race Down Main Street?
Last edited:
Hey, when someone says smile I smile! 
Keels
The Official Keels of RunDisney
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2008
michigandergirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
Fun recap so far! Thanks again for the drink! I really enjoyed meeting everyone at HHHH and as you can tell from that pic, I was very much enjoying beer that day. In fact, I fell asleep on the bus on the way to the half the next morning!
Keels
The Official Keels of RunDisney
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2008
Free To Good Home
I'm going through my run stuff I leave here in Florida and am trying to get rid of a few things ... first up - my old running watch!
It's a white, original Garmin Vivoactive (the square model). The band will need to be replaced, but I'll let you pick out whatever color you want and will Amazon that to you. Comes with the charger.
I also have Mr. Keels' black Vivoactive to give away as well, but that will take a while longer until we return to Texas.
I'm going through my run stuff I leave here in Florida and am trying to get rid of a few things ... first up - my old running watch!
It's a white, original Garmin Vivoactive (the square model). The band will need to be replaced, but I'll let you pick out whatever color you want and will Amazon that to you. Comes with the charger.
I also have Mr. Keels' black Vivoactive to give away as well, but that will take a while longer until we return to Texas.
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